Pawn shops and fingerprint dust

I spent today slogging around the area to pawn shops, jewelry and watch shops, anywhere I could think of with a list of my stuff in case anything gets pawned. And you have no idea how hard it is to clean up fingerprint dust. That stuff really seems to stick to things and I keep finding it when I touch things. I just opened my desk and voila! Black fingers! and somehow I've lost some really important paperwork that I should have filed and apparently didn't because it's not where it's supposed to be. I tore the house apart looking for it and when I was done the house looked almost as bad as it did after the break in. I probably threw it away.

I started the list for the insurance company and that's a wonderfully depressing task. I asked the adjuster just how I was supposed to put a value on something I've had for 20 plus years. She told me to just give it my best guess. It doesn't matter anyway because I'm not getting much back. Oh well-note to self-if I ever get nice stuff again, keep the receipt. And get a rider on the insurance policy to cover it.

I'm just in a horrible funky mood right now and I hope a good run tomorrow cures it. I ran 7 miles yesterday-barely. I think I just didn't eat enough to fuel the run and I ended up walking a lot of the last 2 miles. Tomorrow's run will be better-I can feel it and I'm really eager to get out there and just run.

I planned a funny little post regarding a comment left by my friend Bosco but I just don't have it in me right now. Maybe tomorrow after I run I will be back to my usual satirical, humorous self. This self indulgent pity party I'm throwing is getting old. If I had a friend acting like this I would tell her to get over herself and snap out of it. I think I need to take my own advice.

A better day

Thanks, guys, for all your kind words and commiseration. Laurel, your comment in particular about the treadmill did give me a chuckle, especially since I tried running on it last night without a tv to watch and it sucked like a Hoover. And Bruce, I'm sorry you had to go throught this as well. I managed to work on my list of stolen stuff without crying last night even though I had to add some stuff. I'm trying to figure out how to put a value on it-I don't remember what I paid for most of it, and I really don't know what it's worth. I know what it's worth to me, I just don't know what it's worth to the insurance company.

I'm trying really hard to be positive. They didn't take Garmie, and I had 2 runs in him that I haven't downloaded yet, so that's a good thing. They didn't take my race medals or the notebook with my race bibs and pictures. So we can surmise that the bottom feeding cretin is not a runner.

The very good news is I had a Dr appointment yesterday and I asked the doc if there was any reason, based on my medical history that I shouldn't run a marathon in December. He said "I think that's a brilliant idea!" And he wasn't being sarcastic! He's a cyclist so he gets what running means to me. We talked about my training plan and dealing with longer runs and he was very positive.

so, faithful readers-time to move forward. I'll do what I can to stay safe and keep the wolves away from my door; the loss I've suffered is only stuff. It was important, valuable stuff but just stuff none the less. I hope whoever gets it takes care of it and realizes its value.

Theft

I wish I could post something today along my more usual lines-something that's more in line with my weird sense of humor. After what happened yesterday, however, I won't be smiling or cracking jokes for a while.

Our house was broken in to yesterday while we were out doing some post holiday shopping. We came home in the late afternoon to discover our sliding glass door was shattered and the house was trashed. They took a lot of stuff; some pretty valuable, some just junky stuff we had lying around. They even took the time to clean out Hubby's small change stash that he uses to get a gallon of gas for the lawn mower-maybe 10 bucks in quarters.

They took my whole jewelry box. I had some pretty good pieces and lots of cheap costume jewelry. It's not the value of the stuff that makes me sad as much as the sentimental meaning behind it-most of it was things Hubby has given me over the years. There was a small pearl ring that can't be worth much, but it was the first piece of jewelry he gave me and it's gone.

These bottom feeding cretins didn't just steal my stuff; they stole my sense of security. Now I have to shop for an alarm system for the house and I have to keep the doors locked when I'm home alone and we'll probably lock the doors even when we're both here. I knew there was crime in my little town, I just never expected to get hit myself. I suppose that's pretty naive of me-I'm just as likely to be robbed as the next guy.

The jerks took a lot of stuff that just isn't replaceable. I truly wish they had taken the tv and the computer and the dvd player; I can replace that. I can't replace the victorian sapphire ring I bought in London almost 10 years ago.

I had planned a 4 mile run today but instead I will be talking to insurance people and visiting pawn shops and coin shops in the area and giving them lists of stuff just in case my things happen to show up. And running on the treadmill is going to suck until I can replace the small tv in my bedroom-they took that too. I know I should be as positive as possible-nobody was hurt; they could have trashed the house worse; they could have set the house on fire or something. It's hard to have a positive attitude after something like this.

I'm back!

I did an easy 5 miler out doors today and it felt wonderful! I loved every step. Well, at least my mind enjoyed every step-my body complained the whole way, as in "What the...I thought we were done with this whole ridiculous I'm going to be a runner thing. You let me sleep in, eat pie and sugar cookies, sit around the house like a slug for a whole week and now you expect me to start running again?" Why yes, I do indeed expect you to start running again.

I wonder what my body will say when it finds out it's going to train for and run a marathon next year?

Running hiatus is over!

My running vacation is over. I ran 4 miles today on the treadmill and I can't believe I'm saying this, but it felt really good-a run on the deadmill? Good?? Go figure!

I wanted to run outdoors today, but I stuck my nose out the door, felt the cold in the air, saw the frost on the lawn, and decided that an indoor run was in order. It was 43 degrees at 8:30 this morning! That's horribly, awfully, nastily freezing cold!

Now that all my faithful readers from the east coast and Canada have finished laughing their butts off, remember-this is California, and not even northern California where I believe the white stuff actually falls occasionally. You have to make an adjustment to calculate cold weather here-I call it the California chill factor. After living here for 45 years, I have come up with a highly technical mathematical calculation that clearly shows that in California, if the thermometer says 50 degrees, for a person who has lived here more than 10 years that actually feels like 25 degrees. So making adjustments for the fact that I have lived here so long, and the temperature was 43 degrees, the California chill factor was 19 degrees.

Now, those of you who live in colder climes would certainly not run in 19 degree weather, would you? I thought not. So stop laughing!

Be a child tomorrow

It's almost Christmas! My shopping is done-barely; I finished yesterday. I will be baking pies and tidying up the old homestead today, and waging war yet again with the ants who have decided that my kitchen is their new winter home. If I could find a roll of very, very tiny razor wire I'd put it up.

So, faithful readers, how do we celebrate Christmas? I propose that tomorrow we celebrate it like children. Not the perfect, well dressed and mannerly children we see on Christmas cards, but like we did when you and I were actually kids. Let's sing Jingle Bells as loud as possible with the Batman lyrics. Let's be horribly ungrateful for practical gifts like socks and sweaters and barely mumble "thanks" when we get them (unless, of course, they're very nice running socks!). I intend to pile as many ribbons as possible on top of my head and see if I can walk around the room, runway model style. I'm going to play with the boxes as much as I play with the toys. I'll insist on pumpkin pie for breakfast and I will squirt the whipped cream straight into my mouth and then show it to Hubby. I think that we should all, at least once, be a silly, ridiculous, over the top funny kid tomorrow. Consider it a Christmas present to yourself! And best of all, if you can possible manage it, run like you did when you were 10 years old. Leave the Garmin and the Ipod at home and just run. Don't think of anything but how good it feels to just run. Try to run as fast as you possibly can and imagine that you're racing with your best friend. It may be the best gift you give yourself. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Hubby is a genius!

My blog is fixed! Hubby, brilliant man that he is, fixed it for me-open a couple of windows, left click here, right click there, and voila! I'm back, baby!

So-as mentioned before, not much going on running wise, as I'm taking a couple of days off. I did a "30-30' yesterday-30 minutes on the ellipticall, followed by 30 minutes at a very slow pace on the deadmill. I really noticed the elliptical-I had sore muscles that I usually never get from running.

So, faithful readers, lets talk about some random, totally un-running related subjects:

Bruce-what the heck is up with your weather in Vegas? I saw the pictures on line and you guys had snow! Just how often does that happen?

I also heard that Drew Peterson, the "gentleman" with various missing and deceased wives, is currently engaged. So my question is not about him but rather about the lady that is his betrothed? I wonder what her thinking is-"Gosh, one wife died under highly suspicious circumstances, the other is missing; but he seems so nice...

Well, folks, that's all I have to ponder. Discuss among yourselves!!